Load supports, commonly known as "roof racks", can be affixed to the roof of a vehicle to carry a load which may not fit within the vehicle. Such roof racks typically consist of spaced tubular metal bars spanning across the vehicle roof, and supported above the vehicle roof by posts whose feet are fixed to the rain gutters on either side of the vehicle roof.
In many modern cars, the rain gutters have been eliminated, and conventional roof racks are no longer suitable. Special roof racks are required for such modern vehicles. These roof racks are very expensive, and due to their bulky nature, require considerable storage space when not in use. Another major disadvantage of the latter type of roof rack is that it must be custom designed to suit each vehicle model and, in many cases, the front and rear racks are of different lengths.
Further, in many instances, holes must be drilled into the vehicle roof to enable mounting attachments for the roof racks to be fixed to the roof. Hence, the installation of the mounting attachments requires skilled labor.
Known metal roof racks are not entirely suitable for carrying fragile loads, such as glass sheets, unless an additional soft material, such as a sponge layer, is placed between the roof rack and the fragile load.
Australian patent no. 493424 discloses a roof carrier for one or more surfboards, the roof carrier having a solid, but compressible cylindrical support pad to protect the roof. However, the roof carrier of patent no. 493424 is designed for a specific type of load, and does not have general application. Furthermore, as it is secured to the raingutters, it is not suitable for recent models of vehicles. Another disadvantage of this known roof support is that it is easily stolen as it is fixed only to the exterior of the vehicle.
One particularly significant disadvantage of the roof rack of patent no. 493424 is that the solid support pad, although spongy, cannot be compressed to a compact form and the roof rack still requires considerable storage space when not in use. For example, the known roof rack cannot be stowed in the glovebox of a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,409,946 discloses a luggage carrier for a vehicle roof, the carrier consisting of a pair of inflatable tubes, each of which are held on the vehicle roof by a strap connected to the upper surface of the tube. The ends of the strap are secured to the rain gutters of the vehicle.
Consequently, this luggage carrier is not suitable for modern vehicles which do not have rain gutters, and is prone to theft. Moreover, as the securing strap is not connected to the ends of the inflatable tube, but rather to the top of the tube, the tube has a tendency to roll if the vehicle stops suddenly, or accelerates quickly, particularly if the tube is carrying a load.
This invention provides an improved load carrier for use on a vehicle roof which overcomes or ameliorates one or more of the above disadvantages, or which at least provides the consumer with a useful choice.